New cloth on old garment parable meaning
The parable "new cloth on old garment" is a teaching of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Matthew 9:16-17 and the Gospel of Mark 2:21. The parable is often referred to as the "parable of the new cloth on old garment" or the "parable of the new wine in old bottles."
The parable goes like this:
"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins, or they will burst, and the wine will spill out and the wineskins will be ruined."
The meaning of this parable is that just as a new cloth cannot be sewn onto an old garment without causing further damage, and just as new wine cannot be poured into old wineskins without causing them to burst, so too is it with spiritual things.
In this parable, Jesus is teaching that:
- New spiritual truths cannot be added to old, unrepentant hearts: Just as a new cloth cannot be sewn onto an old garment without causing further damage, so too is it with spiritual truths. If a person's heart is not first made new through repentance and faith, then new spiritual truths will not take root and will only cause further damage.
- New spiritual experiences cannot be poured into old, untransformed lives: Just as new wine cannot be poured into old wineskins without causing them to burst, so too is it with spiritual experiences. If a person's life is not first transformed by the power of God, then new spiritual experiences will only lead to spiritual stagnation and ultimately, spiritual ruin.
In summary, the parable "new cloth on old garment" teaches that spiritual truths and experiences require a transformed heart and a new spiritual foundation in order to be effective and lasting.